(1866-1935)
A native of Providence, Rhode Island, George Pierce Baker studied literature at Harvard University. He graduated in 1887, returning to the academic life there in 1905 to teach. Baker sponsored the Harvard Dramatic Club from its founding in 1908 and established his 47 Workshop for aspiring dramatists in his English 47 course, many of whom became the most significant playwrights of the first half of the 20th century, including Eugene O'Neill, Sidney Howard, Edward Sheldon, and Philip Barry. In 1925, Baker left Harvard for Yale University to chair its drama department and teach theatre history, as well as direct plays for the university theatre. He retired in 1933. Baker helped establish the National Theatre Conference in 1927 and served as its first president in 1932. As a scholar, Baker published several important works, including The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist (1907), Some Unpublished Correspondence of David Garrick (1907), Dramatic Technique (1919), and Modern American Plays (1920).
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.